SIX performances left!!   Get over here to see the show that  has kept WBT audiences in stitches….. as well as keeping OFF BROADWAY hopping for 12 years! The cast is terrific!    And, If you want to see fabulous, LOCAL girl, Christine DiTOTA…here’s your chance!   She’s on stage… at WEDNESDAY’s performances ONLY! She & Pat McRoberts (of BUDDY fame) do a hot Marriage Tango!

Ask for the 35th Anniversary Special…….and save some bucks! 

Senator Jeff Klein Invites 1000 Senior Citizens Across the 34^th District to a Three Course Hot Lunch and the Award Winning Musical, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”.

 State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) celebrates his 15^th annual Senior Appreciation Day.  The event kicks off Thursday, September 3^rd and continues Friday, September 4^th. Klein invited 1000 Senior Citizens to join him for a three course hot lunch followed by a musical at the Westchester Broadway Theatre. This year, everyone will watch the award winning musical, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”.

Klein holds the event every year to thank Senior Citizens in the 34^th District, which includes Bronx and Westchester, and show his appreciation for their contribution to the community.     “Our Seniors are the pillars of our community and I can’t thank them enough for their endless support and dedication. To show my appreciation, I wanted to offer them an all expenses paid afternoon where they can enjoy one of the greatest recreational resources in a our state, the Westchester Broadway Theatre,” said Klein.

"It is a great honor for The Westchester Broadway Theatre to, once again, serve and entertain the special people of Senator Klein’s ‘Senior Appreciation Days’. We will strive to make it a day they will enjoy and remember. We thank Senator Klein for providing us the opportunity and look forward to a continuing rewarding relationship," said William Stutler, Co-Owner & President of Westchester Broadway Theatre.

I Love you, You’re Perfect, Now Change offers a welcome escape from the rainy day blues! With a bounty of laughs and poignant moments….the sun will shine within! See Pat McRoberts, without his BUDDY glasses, along with Courtney Balan, Noel Molinelli and Brian Cooper in this PERFECT show! You’ll LOVE it!

We’re happy to announce that PAT McROBERTS will join our production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!  effective Friday, August 21st. 

Pat McRoberts gave a show stopping performance as Buddy Holly in BUDDY here at WBT. Our audiences jumped to their feet for this dynamic performer!  Many have asked us to have him back here on the WBT stage!  Pat replaces Jonathan Rayson who is going on tour with Legally Blonde.  

Take advantage of our Special 35th Anniversary Deal to see Pat McRoberts in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change!  Through 9/19/09, Buy 1 Regular Priced ticket at $73 and get a second one for only $35!!   Call the Box Office for Details: (914)592-2222.  

 Pat McRoberts, starred as “Chris” in MISS SAIGON on Broadway and in Los Angeles, Chicago, Vancouver, Denver, Cleveland and Detroit. “Buddy” in BUDDY: THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY National Tour and recently at the Westchester Broadway Theatre. Other Regional productions include TURN OF THE CENTURY(Goodman Theatre), MAN OF LA MANCHA (Long Wharf), RING OF FIRE: The Johnny Cash Musical (Studio Arena), HAIR, FOREVER PLAID (Downtown Cabaret), MY WAY: A Musical Tribute To Frank Sinatra (Gateway Playhouse), PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES (Carousel), WEEKEND COMEDY(Totem Pole), PRELUDE TO A KISS (Chicago), WMKS: Where Music Kills Sorrow (Barter, Fulton Opera House, Missouri Repertory), ON THE ROAD (Florida Studio), ANYTHING GOES(Arkansas Repertory), I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE! and Yoko Ono’s NEW YORK ROCK off-Broadway on Capitol Records. TV credits include recurring roles on ALL MY CHILDREN, GUIDING LIGHT and AS THE WORLD TURNS. Pat has a B.A.in Music from Otterbein College.

Brian Myers Cooper who brilliantly transforms into many diverse characters in ILYYPNC!  

I grew up on a farm in southeastern Ohio (the part of Ohio without a major city). It was a pretty idyllic setting – safe, secure and loving, with parents (now married 45 years) who instilled in me

a sense of self esteem, a sense of responsibility for my words, thoughts and deeds, and a great work ethic. I couldn’t have asked for a better preparation for life.

I was bitten early on in performances at church and school, so by the time I got to high school, I was fairly bursting at the seams to be a part of the spring musical. My freshman year came and they didn’t have one - seems the director had moved away and the music teacher retired leaving no one willing to take up the reins of corralling 30-40 teenagers to put on a musical comedy. I was devastated, but the next year, the new music teacher stepped up to direct, and I was picked to play the lead in Bells Are Ringing, the alcoholic, ascerbic, urbane and witty down-and-out writer character made famous in the movie version by Dean Martin. I was fifteen years old. I didn’t understand ANY of it, but I was onstage and for the first time in my life, I knew what I wanted to do. 
 

Some of my favorite shows: I have fond memories of the National Tour of Miss Saigon and the wonderful family that company created out there on the road, and I’ve been fortunate to originate a couple of roles Off-Broadway as well as an American premier of a wonderful play, The Cavalcaders by Irish playwright Bill Roche at Florida Stage, which stand out as  particularly proud accomplishments. But I’m still waiting to play Whizzer in Falsettos by William Finn - it’s a great role that I’m just now growing into, type-wise.

Developing the multitude of characters for Man#2 in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! began several years ago when I did the role in a different production. I worked then to really ground these characters in their given situations and then let them live. Each scene is it’s own world with it’s own over-arching rule or theme, and it’s our job to create believable people to live in that world - people the audience will recognize from their life, or family, or maybe themselves - and then the fun begins as we unspool the story of the scene. The work I did before came in handy as I joined this production just as the company was preparing for Opening Night, so my challenge was to adapt my characters to fit into the slightly different worlds that director Charles Repole had already created with this cast, and to do it from the sidelines as Travis (the male standby) rehearsed and performed the role with the cast. It was a wonderful challenge, and I have to thank Charlie, Victor Lukas (our stage manager), Christine DiTota (the ladies’ standby) and especially Travis for helping me prepare to go on.
 

My favorite moment in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! is hands down the final scene, “Funerals are for Dating”. I love these characters, and my own character (Arthur Beasley) is really an amalgam of amazing men from my family and beyond who inspired me the first instant I read the scene. I took traits from all of them to create my Arthur, and I think of them all fondly every night as I play him. 

I have done a number of other creative endeavors between acting jobs, including authoring CD-ROM multi-media content for a reading program and supervising the staffs of about a hundred weddings. When I’m not on stage, you will most often find me at the Actors Equity building in NY serving the membership as an elected Councillor and Board member, coaching other actors, running through Central Park (just two blocks south of my apartment), or cooking anything and everything - I rarely eat out unless it’s an occasion, and I love to create in the kitchen.

When you see me with my ipod earbuds in, I’m most likely listening to either an NPR podcast or a recorded book. I have loads of music and I love it, but I’m not big on having sounds around me all the time - the TV or radio - just as atmosphere.  So if I’m listening, I’m usually just catching up on the news or preparing for my next audition.

SUMMER SAVINGS FOR OUR 35th ANNIVERSARY

Joe DiPietro & Jimmy Roberts, Writer & Composer of I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE!

In 1989 Joe DiPietro, then in his early 30’s began writing sketches about how he and friends dated in their 20s. In 1990, he says, “they were presented in a basement theatre over a weekend. As fate would have it, a producer saw it and said, “This is a musical revue.” To me, a musical revue was something like Ain’t Misbehavin’.  I was still unsure when a friend introduced me to composer, Jimmy Roberts. He saw a video of the sketches and said. “Don’t change it, it’s funny, you don’t need music.”  Impressed with his honesty, DiPietro said, "I want you."  Roberts, in his early 40’s was unsure “I was tired of revues with five actors on stools wearing cutesy sweaters.” However, He liked the material, “It was funny and sharp. It rang true-to-life. With music, however, I worried it would soften it. It turned out just the opposite.”  Roberts had written other things (including A..My Name is Still Alice) and took DiPietro under his wing. "Any collaboration is a marriage," says DiPietro. The show evolved, says Roberts, “with the message that, dating or married, it’s worth connecting.”  They were warned that the title was too long and it wouldn’t fit on a marquee and it wasn’t marketable.  “We didn’t listen,” says DiPietro, and the title went on to become a catch phrase everywhere from religion to politics. “I hoped for a modest run. Never did I imagine we’d have thousands of productions in the US and worldwide!” Lyricist and composer agree their show strikes a chord with male and female, young and old. "It’s about love and maerriage," says Dipietro. Adds Roberts, "Every culture has relationship rituals, so our show is easy to identify with in any language."

The team also collaborated on the Off Broadway musical, The Thing About Men. and a children’s musical based on "The Velveteen Rabbit." Di Pietro also wrote Off broadway’s current musical hit, The Toxic Avenger, based on the ’80’s cult sci-fi  film. His other show, Memphis will hit Broadway in the Fall.

Noel Molinelli  plays 15 "perfectly lovely, ever-changing" characters in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! After a smash opening and a few weeks into a ctitically acclaimed run…we asked her to share some insights with us about what makes her tick!

I was born in NYC while my parents were getting respective PHD’s in Physics and BioChem at Columbia, but grew up in Northern Virginia.  My mom instilled her love of old movie musicals and her fearless silliness from a young age. My dad taught me about visual and literary arts…and a wacky/nerdy sense of humor.  Both my parents shared their artistic talents with me and my older sister and younger brother and encouraged the arts along with high academic expectations.  Growing up was filled with fun and family! No major extravagances…but a wealth of love and attention and positive reinforcement on every level.

I assumed I would grow up and be a scientist like both my parents!  But…after my freshman year of high school and a summer music theatre program at the Institute for the Arts in NOVA…I realized I wanted to get involved in Drama and chorus at school. When I got the role of Adelaide in GUYS AND DOLLS at Robinson Secondary in Fairfax, VA my sophmore year, and the people laughed…and laughed…I was addicted.  I realized that telling stories and connecting with an audience on that organic emotional level was my future!  I went to a great state school, James Madison University.  I majored in musical theatre, but had a rich, well rounded academic experience including a semester abroad in Italy!

My dream role? This is an impossible question!!!!   I am notorious for loving just about anything ever put on stage for either the whole or the sum of its parts.  A Dream role would be something that I could help create with some talented writers…something with a rockin’ score.

The task of…..developing so many different characters in the show?

I’m just starting to figure this one out….get back to me at the end of the run, and I may have scratched the surface!  Joining this amazing cast who have spent such good quality time with the material (having done previous productions of the piece) helped crate a safe and solid environment for me to discover.  They made it easier  and immense fun to learn in our 10 days of rehearsal!  I already feel like each scene has evolved and improved for me, and I look forward to see how things progress to the end!

The Epilogue is my favorite moment in the show….it’s a great song full of fun harmonies, and we all get to be together on stage to wrap up the stories and recognize the universal and eternal search to find Love…and keep it. 

Full- time Mommy is my best AND most challenging job yet.  I have a 4 and a half year old son who keeps me constantly amazed and inspired, along with my phenomenal husband. With all that love, I’m a lucky girl.

I’m a big home body.  I love cooking and baking and enjoying my family!  I love lighting candles and listening to music, and creating a comfortable home environment.  And, I love  enjoying the outdoors whenever possible!!  I YEARN to live on the water in New England one day!

 My ipod has Everything from Bluegrass to Rap.  Favorites right now include Iron & Wine, Sara Bareilles, Carrie Underwood, Green Day, Martin Sexton, Boys Like Girls and….any and all 80’s rock.

Enjoy a glimpse from Press Night!